The Faults of Humanity
by tokoshie-no-sayonara
Summary: Chap 15: ... She screamed into the emptiness till her voice was hoarse and her soul exhausted with the effort of living...
1. Malfunctions

This story is in the process of being revised. Please bear with me.

* * *

Internal sensors within GAT-X207 began to wail. The shrill, monotonous cry of warning broke the young pilot from the terrifying trance of battle. It was a horror scenario that had repeated itself behind the young coordinator's eyes every time they prepared for battle- Blitz was malfunctioning.

The screens suddenly blinked to nothing as the mobile suit ground to a slow, agonizing halt. The cockpit filled with a hollow silence. Frustrated and terrified at his situation, the pilot slammed a fist against the cockpit wall. He couldn't reach anyone under ZAFT command. And with nothing but static filling his ears, he could never know if they were trying to reach him as well. For the moment, he was dead to the world.

Two machines clashed in the troubled air. One, carnal red in color and missing an arm, latched onto another whose white armor was soiled with dirt. Both pilots silently begged the other to stop and prevent what had to be done. One of them would have to die. They had gone too far. There was no turning back.

No more tears could they shed for each other. No more prayers that it would all simply be over. The bonds of friendship have no power on the battlefield. The only thing that mattered was making it out alive. No, there was no turning back now.

Neither paid heed to a small Earth Alliance fighter aircraft that began to teeter towards the ground. Smoke plumed from where it's wing had been ripped away by a stray attack. The SkyGrasper tried vainly to maintain its altitude. Its nose tilted towards the sky in a vain attempt to fight gravity and her greedy fingers. The fighter aircraft skidded along the surface of the water as it tried to land. It crossed onto the shore of a nearby island and was jostled from the beach into the treeline. Beyond the perimeter of palm trees, nothing but a plume of smoke was visable. The SkyGrasper was lost.

In the distance, the two mobile suits, though forever bound by friendship, were locked in a final, fatal embrace. Without time to think, the red suit initiated a self-distrust. Onlookers paused as the explosion filled the screens, different thoughts about a friend or loved one fading into nothingness as shock numbed the mind and senses. Torn apart by war, and finally together again in destruction

No one knew the fates of the pilots of Gat-X303Aegis or GAT-X105 Strike.

* * *

_Chapter Two Teaser_

_"With a sigh, the pilot tucked his helmet under his arm and stepped out onto the small ledge outside the cockpit, blinking at the darkness. He raised his free hand, showing that he had no weapon."_

**Surrender and Secret Plans**


	2. Surrender and Secret Plans

Again, this story is still being revised.

* * *

The pilot cursed to himself as he jumped from the cockpit of GAT-X103, Buster. "This isn't good…" he muttered sarcastically to himself as he surveyed his jumbled Gundam while brushing a hand through his blonde hair. Behind his fallen mecha, the remains of two mobile suits smoldered beneath the sun. 

The young pilot of GAT-X207, Blitz tried desperately to contact someone- anyone…

Unbeknownst to the pilot of the Buster, a mobile assault ship had been watching him warily, still stunned by the loss of the Strike, and discovering their young SkyGrasper pilot to be MIA. As the coordinator fell to his knees before his machine, there was a rustle and low murmur in the brush to his right. He stood slowly, shoulders thrown back confidently. He had no weapon, and he was most likely outnumbered by naturals- and he knew it. So, with an arrogant sigh, he turned smartly on his heel, hands upraised in the position of surrender. "So you've got me." He jested, scanning the bushes with amethyst eyes.

He smirked in victory as several Earth Alliance soldiers crept from the brush with their guns upraised. "Come with us." One grunted roughly. The man jerked his gun towards the warship that had come to rest on the other side of the trees. "Fine." The teen scoffed as he followed his captors with hands still upraised.

* * *

"Dammit!" growled a platinum haired pilot as he drifted out of the Duel's cockpit. Almost as an afterthought, he ripped off his helmet and hurling it towards a passing mechanic. Though, to the man's relief, and the pilot's agitation, the helmet simply floated back up before finding its target. The mobile suit deck on the underside of the Gamow was unusually empty with Buster and Blitz gone; and those who didn't yet know of the results from the battle were anxious to hear about two of their finest mobile suits being MIA. "Hey, Yzak! Where's the others?" called another mechanic, drifting over to the Duel. "Heard it was a nasty one." He commented while grabbing onto the cockpit door and gliding to a halt. "Shove it." Yzak muttered dryly. 

* * *

With a sigh, the pilot of the Blitz debated over opening the cockpit. Inside, it was sweltering hot- but activity might draw enemy attention. "Hello?" He called into the com, "GAT-X207 Blitz requesting assistance. I repeat, requesting assistance." Though the chances of anyone answering were dismal, a slight hope still remained that he had not been forgotten. Unfortunantly unknown to him, Le Creuset had called back all his remaining forces and retreated. '_They must've thought I had been terminated and left._' He thought with sudden horror. Throwing caution aside, the young coordinator pulled his helmet off and tried once more to initiate start-up operations. It had begun to cool considerably while he had been lost in his thoughts.Night must be falling. The pilot wiped sweat slicked peridot locks from his forehead absently. The thoughts of what night would being already beginning to weigh down on him.

"Calling GAT-X207 Blitz. Come in Blitz." The pilot sprang to life as the com crackled faintly. He replied anxiously, hoping beyond hope that it was ZAFT come to recue him.

"This is GAT-X207 Blitz." Maybe they hadn't forgotten him after all!

"Blitz, this the Earth Alliance mobile assault ship Archangel-"

The coordinator's heart stopped. So much for being rescued...

"We will offer assistance at your surrender. Please respond." stated the female voice coldly, as if she would rather see him dead than help him.

What could he do? No ZAFT vessel had made contact and he couldn't survive very long in Blitz's cockpit.

"You have my surrender." His voice cracked as he forced the words out, barely a whisper.

"Help will be sent to your coordinates shortly." The Archangel replied curtly.

The COM clicked off, mimicking the pilot's shattered hopes.

* * *

In the Archangel's brig, the pilot of the Buster was contemplating his fate when a crewman walked in. "Can't a guy think?" he muttered, resting his head against the wall of his cell. "Your friend just surrendered. We're going to his coordinates now." the man said with satisfaction. Like a victor before his prize, the man stood before the cell.

"What friend?" Dearka probed cautiously.

"Ah- the Blitz."

"What! No way-"

"Hey, you surrendered too. They were our suits to begin with, and now they're coming home."

"You pathetic naturals couldn't fly them if you tried!"

"They were _still_ ours before ZAFT raided the research satellite of Heliopolis and broke the treaty with Aube."

"Just get over-"

The brash young coordinator was interrupted when the crewman grabbed the bars, growling "I had family on Heliopolis. If I ever hear you disrespect that incident-" the man paused, breathing heavily. "you'll regret it." He gathered himself and stalked out. A wide-eyed pilot sitting on the cell floor stared blankly in his wake.

* * *

"Blitz-" the com crackled again. "Open your cockpit and prepare to surrender."

"Alright." The pilot muttered dismally.

Night had indeed fallen. It coated the desolate battlefield in somber grays and blues. The Archangel was a silent specter as it moved across the field, the Buster sitting awkwardly in the mobile suit deck.

The pilot of the Blitz did a he was commanded, his heart sinking even lower as the cockpit doors receded. He swallowed the lump of bitter ice that had formed in his throat. A wince formed as it carved it's way down. There it was. The Archangel- the ship that they had been chasing- and now he was it's prisoner. _What irony_ he thought with despair.

Outside, the Archangel came to rest near the surrendering mobile suit.

"GAT-X207, Blitz." The com crackled. Oh, how he was loath to respond.

"Yes." He bit out, still stunned at the idea of being captured.

"Exit the cockpit and put your hands in the air." It clicked off, leaving him alone in the desolate silence once again.

_'Maybe they'll release me after questioning.'_ He thought sullenly as he pushed the keyboard to the side. He couldn't look like he was defeated. He would retain as much dignity as he could. The pep talk did little to raise his spirits, and neither did a final look around the cockpit he had grown so accustomed to. There was a surprising amount of sentimental value in the Blitz. It was, after all, an amazing machine. How odd that the Naturals had been able to build it.

"Blitz." The com hissed impatiently.

With a sigh, the pilot tucked his helmet under his arm and stepped out onto the small ledge outside the cockpit, blinking back the darkness. He raised his free hand, showing that he had no weapon and was indeed succumbing.

* * *

Yzak paced- or rather floated to and fro before the image screen on the Gamow's bridge; a deep scowl engraved in his features. He had since changed from his flight suit, though he was yet to retreive his helmet, which was no doubt still floating about the mobile suit deck. An image quickly blinked to life on the screen, revealing the face of a troubled Rau Le Creuset. "Commander-" Yzak straightened, hand automatically jerking up into a salute. He opened his mouth to speak again, but was silenced by a wave of Le Creuset's hand. He hurridly closedhis mouth as the commander sat at his desk on the Vesalius.

"I know what you wanted to speak of. Both the Strike and Aegis are destroyed." Le Creuset waited for a nod from his pilot before continuing. "And we have yet to know the fates of Blitz and Buster. But understand this-" his voiced dropped suddenly. "None of the crew are to know of what ocurred. We shall get your teammates back, and hopefully their mobile suits as well. But for now, simply see to Duel and return to your quarters. We shall recover what we lost today. Dismissed." The commander turned in his chair as the video link blinked to black. The only others on the bridge were some various crewmen sitting at the stations and monitoring the earth's surface. It was likey that they hadn't heard their conversation.

With a nod and another salute, Yzak turned and left the bridge. As he drifted along the hall towards the mobile suit deck, he couldn't help but feel a little bit alone.

* * *

_Chapter Three Teaser_

_""Let us decide that when he wakes." Rau's voice dropped to a whisper as the pilot shifted in his sleep. "Inform me when he regains consciousness." His back to the medic, Creuset let a small smile curl the corner of his lips..."_

**Hopeless**


	3. Hopeless

_Still being revised_

* * *

"We tried to hail them, numerous times actually. Both had disappeared and we were fighting a losing battle." Rau le Creuset sighed, steeping his fingers absently. "I felt a loss for having to leave them in an unknown condition. But there was no way to contact them. I had to think of everyone else aboard the Vesalius and the Gamow." His face again tilted towards his pilot on screen, mouth turned down in a slight frown. 

"I know commander, but it just feels wrong. We didn't even look for them-" Yzak was stopped mid-sentence once again by a wave of Creuset's hand. "We lingered in the upper atmosphere for so long as to let our presence be forgotten, and now that we've returned to earth our reports confirm that the Archangel has moved from the area. So now we will return to search for your companions." The youth was not satisfied by his answer. "But commander, it has been three days. They will surely-"

"Yzak, I am the commander and my decisions are final. Do not show such impudence again." The detached contemplative façade dropped in a moment of agitation. Revealing, if only for a fleeting moment, a hidden doubt. He took a deep breath, trying to ignore his pilot's stung expression. "We are setting our coordinates now. We will get them back- all of them. If that is all you came to speak of, I believe that you are dismissed." Creuset turned in his chair, steeping his fingers and slipping into thought as the video link dissolved. Yzak stiffened, giving a final salute before turning on his heel and walking out of the bridge for the second time with no results.

* * *

Aboard the Archangel, several figures were going over footage from the previous battle. "Miriallia, I still can't make it out." Complained someone from their spot on the bridge, their tone borderline on begging. "Be quiet Kuzzey. It is something. Something important…" A teenage girl nearly shouted, turning away from the screen to stare at her friend. "Calm down Miriallia. We'll find Kira and Tolle soon." Soothed another EA soldier that had slipped onto the bridge during the argument. "Sai, what did Captain Ramius say about the prisoners?" She asked the newcomer as he sat down in a nearby chair. Kuzzey rolled his eyes and jumped from his perch. "I'll see you guys in the mess hall." He waved halfheartedly and exited the bridge.

Moments after he left, several more figures emerged from the doors. Miriallia and Sai looked up as the captain and lieutenant walked in, seemingly in a heated discussion. Both officers blinked. Lieutenant Flaga laughed nervously and ran a hand through his hair. "I guess we'll continue this later Captain Ramius." He quickly turned on his heel and exited, leaving the Captain alone with Miriallia and Sai. "Captain." Sai ventured cautiously. "Have either of the prisoners said anything yet?" He motioned for Miriallia, who walked over sullenly.

"No. Have you given up on that video yet? The feed was distorted by the explosion and we were so far away, that any details were blurred." The captain sighed, putting a hand to her forehead. "The idea that it could be Kira seems too far fetched. It was probably just some debris. No one blames you for being idealistic, losing someone you care about is never easy, but-" "How can you say that! There is no proof that they're both gone! They're coming back! They have to come back!" Miriallia shouted, narrowing her eyes and biting back the tears that threatened to break free. "We have to find them…" she whispered helplessly. Her pleading eyes darted from Sai to the captain before pushing past them and running out of the bridge. Sai exhaled wearily as Miriallia disappear behind the sliding doors. "She was close to both of them." He muttered, more to himself than a quiet Murrue Ramius.

* * *

"Commander-" a crewman aboard the Vesalius looked up at Creuset, holding the com to his ear. "One of the recon teams found someone." Creuset nodded, motioning for the man to continue. "But sir- it is not one of our own. Judging from the flight suit, it's EA. They want to know if they should bring it in." A ghost of a smile passed over Rau's lips. "Yes. We might be able to persuade some information from it." "Yessir." The crewman nodded and turned back to his station.

* * *

An Earth Alliance soldier was hauled rather unceremoniously to the infirmary on the Vesalius. He was looked over hurriedly by the medic, lying unconscious as his wounds were dressed and the bones in his arm were set.

Once in a stable condition, the medic left his side and walked over to his desk where his commander was waiting patiently. "I don't understand it." The medic rested his forehead on his hand, falling into is chair and glancing up at Creuset. "Every test shows him to be a coordinator. And yet it is obvious that he fights for the Earth Alliance."

"War can force one to do strange things."

"Commander, what should we do with him? Though he fights for our enemy, he is a fellow coordinator."

"Let us decide that when he wakes." Rau's voice dropped to a whisper as the pilot shifted in his sleep. "Inform me when he regains consciousness." His back to the medic, Creuset let a small smile curl the corner of his lips as he walked into the hallway.

* * *

"It should be daylight by now." Someone commented from a nearby cell. "I wonder when they'll let us out."

"Dearka?" A young face was quickly pressed against the bars. "Are you in here too?"

An arm was quickly thrust through the bars, waving in the coordinator's general direction. "Right over here, Nicol. I don't see why they put us so far apart. It's not like we could do anything from separate cells." The pilot of the Buster- Dearka, muttered as he rested his forehead against the bars. "And don't sound so freaked out. They'll probably let us go soon anyway." Even though his voice betrayed his hopeful words, Dearka managed a slight smile. "Fifteen and already a prisoner of war, I think you've set a record Nicol." He teased lightly.His companion could only return his empty grin. A thread of hope remained. Holding back the crushing darknessof fear.

* * *

_Chapter 4 Teaser_

Maius City. Home of PLANT Supreme Council member Yuri Amalfi, and Maius Military Industries. But also, there lives the mastermind behind the GAT weapons. But why would a coordinator build such powerful machines for the Earth Alliance? And more important yet, are the five known GAT models, the only ones created... and if not... where are the others?


	4. The Mastermind pt I

I'm going to try and put this from a new character's POV. Just for a fun new angle.

Still being revised.

* * *

"Oxygen levels are dropping…" I couldn't help but mutter to myself dismally. It had just been me and this machine for a couple of days. and I was starting to notice the ill effects it was having on my mind. The platform I stood on reminded me of a dais. I was the speaker and the host of blinking lights and screens was my audience.

"**Oxygen systems operating at: 40 percent**." the mobile suit announced monotonously as more warning lights flickered on. There was a terrible throbbing in my head, and my chest was beginning to feel tight. '_Oh my God…'_ I thought suddenly. '_I'm going to die. I'm drifting around in space and I'm going to run out of air. No one will even know what happened.' _The horrible revelation made me grip the bar the wrapped around the platform where I hovered. No one would know what happened…

Even though it wasn't till C.E 69 that ZAFT's mobile suits made their debut, rumors of such 'monstrosities' had been circulating for the past year and a half before. That was when he became obsessed. The whispers of things… He knew that he could make them better.

My uncle was a mad fool, even then. When he heard of Commodore Halberton's proposal for a mobile suit development project not too long ago, he began to plan again; for what, I didn't know. He planned and sketched and researched anew. Before his obsessions with warfare, he had been a respected scientist. Respected enough that when news of his meddling with mobile suits leaked out, the Earth Alliance pounced like the power hungry tyrants they are. All of their plans had failed. Whispers… Whispers that a coordinator had taken the GINN and modified its capabilities and general appearance began to spread. They could bring him to their side. But how?

The idea of bringing the coordinator with possible plans for a mobile suit took hold as more prototypes failed in the frenzy to have something comparable with the GINN.

So they got my uncle to design some for them.

No wait, let me rephrase that. They _coerced_ my uncle into designing it.

My uncle had a wife- or, had one until they were divorced and she moved out of neutral territory. To the West Coast of what used to be the United States. That was Earth Alliance territory, and more importantly... it was Atlantic Federation. It was at the dawning of the Cosmic Era, where we now live, when the nations on earth joined together to form several superpowers.

There is the **Eurasian Federation**; which consists of the former Europe, Russia and some of Asia. The **Republic of East Asia** is made up of what was China, Japan and other countries in their area. The **South African Union-** made up of most of Africa below the equator. And the **Atlantic Federation;** undeniably the most powerful of the Earth Alliance nations is madeup of North and South America, and the former United Kingdom.

The **African Community,** which makes up the portion above the equator, is aligned with the PLANTs. And the former nations of Australia, and New Zealand make up the PLANT-aligned **Oceania Union**.

What was once India, Thailand, and the many other countries below the **Republic of Asia** and above the **Oceania Union**, form the neutral **Equatorial Union**. Other neutral nations are the **Kingdom of Scandinavia**, and the **Aube Union**.

Back to my uncle. He and his former wife had a son; my cousin Theirry. Don't ask me, I didn't name him. The only problem was that my uncle was a coordinator, while my aunt was a natural. When Theirry was born through natural conception, everybody loved him until the truth came out…. Except for my parents who always loved him, they loved my cousin dearly. They said that he 'bridged the gap'. I guess that my uncle hid the fact that he was a coordinator from my aunt until Theirry was born, and when she found out, she simply left him. I still don't understand it. My cousin was still a baby at the time, and people simply called him a half-breed. My aunt and cousin Theirry left Aube (that was where they had been living) and moved to the West Coast. My uncle, heartbroken and bitter, left for the PLANTs. That was years ago though…

When the Atlantic Federation found out that he had family living in their territory, I can only imagine that they were overjoyed. I don't know much about what happened... only bits gathered from my uncle's delirious mumbling while he slept.

From what I pieced together, the Atlantic Federation took his ex-wife and son. They held them for ransom… and the payment? My uncle's mobile suit designs. Though he had been slipping into madness for the past couple years, he still loved his son…. And would do anything to save him.

As for me? The old fool wouldn't do a damn thing if I were in danger. Then again, I was only his niece. My mother- his estranged sister, and my father both lived on Junius Seven. I was visiting my uncle on MaiusThree at the time it happened. Since I was already there, he was given custody and I became his ward. Not that it mattered, I would be able to live on my own in a few years anyway.

Back to my uncle's 'sad' life. So, he went to Aube and gave them his designs. They sent him to Aube's research satellite, Heliopolis. It appears that the _neutral _nation of Aube wasn't so neutral after all. Apparently Aube's munitions company, Morgenroete, agreed to produce the G series for the Earth Forces. In return for his 'assistance' my uncle was given a fine sum of money and the promise that his familly would be released after he left. But his wife and son were killed once he returned to the PLANTs. They were a liability… and so was my uncle. Any assassination attempts were foiled by the fact that my uncle was safely back in Maius City, enjoying his new fortune. I can safely guess that the Earth Alliance wouldn't have given him so much if they thought he was going to live to spend it. Their lapse in judgement was to our gain.

But soon after, guilt began to fester in his heart.

He began to do things in secret… leaving for days on end and returning haggard and exhausted. I began to wonder what he was up to, but figured that since he was leaving me alone, I was alright with it. Pity on my foolish naiveté

* * *

_Chapter Five Teaser_

"He said something about how, 'diamonds and rubies danced over deadly secrets in the house where madness dwelled." I muttered, resting my head against the wall. "That's it!" I stood, holding the access cards in the air...

The Mastermind, Part II


	5. The Mastermind pt II

Still being revised.

Poetry by the great Lord Alfred Tennyson.

* * *

One morning about two months ago, as my uncle was returning home from where ever he had been for the past two days, I happened to turn the television onto the news. With my feet propped up on the table and a box of cereal in my lap, I watched in horror as images flashed across the screen. I remember that my uncle shared my bewildered expression. _'Now we go to footage taken from the research satellite of Heliopolis…' _As the woman on the screen talked about the video, my uncle fell to his knees. They paused the footage when four…things… similar looking to the GINN stood up. Soon after, the video feed fell to static. The woman on the screen put a hand to her ear, listening to whatever news was being rushed to her. "And we're back with breaking news." Her once perky composure had shattered by that news, leaving her eyes somber and her voice remorseful. "We are sorry to announce that the research satellite of Heliopolis is no more. I repeat, Heliopolis has been destroyed. We here at Channel 8 News will bring you the latest news on this development at the top of the hour, every hour-" the television blinked off and the silence that followed was disconcerting 

"It is all my fault." My uncle's haggard voice echoed some deep harbored self-loathing. He brought his hands to his face, staring at and through them. A ghost unto himself.

"N…no…th…they can't!" He shouted. I stood, placing the cereal on the table gingerly. Slowly, I crept to his side. Though I didn't really like the old man, I could only pity him as he fell into his mad ravings. At the time, I didn't know that indeed it really was conceivably his fault. Had he not given the plans to the Earth Forces, Morgenroete wouldn't have built them at Heliopolis, and the people there would have continued to live in peace… or whatever peace was found in times of war.

"Time for rest uncle." I cajoled, placing my hands on his shoulders and turning him towards his room,

"NO!" he bellowed in such a voice I had not imagined his frail state capable. I fell back a few steps, watching him fall into another bout of madness. "I…I already gave them plans…why did they take them… they're better…don't need the other five…only prototypes." He clutched his arms, staring wildly at me like some deranged beast.

"I'm going to call the doctor…" Before I could creep to the phone, he had lunged forward to block my path. "You tell no one." He hissed, steely eyes narrowing venomously. He had truly gone mad. But what plans had he given to whom, I wondered.

Soon, I calmed him to the point where he slid down the wall and stared ahead. "Do you know what?" he asked monotonously, turning his head towards me. I saw no life there in those empty eyes. "They found out. Somehow ZAFT found out that I designed the new mobile suits for OMNI, and demanded that I design some for them. My family-" I didn't have the heart to remind him that I was family as well…"is already dead, so they had nothing in which to coerce me with. But they said... they said that it would only be right for them to have G units. Or I'd be tried as a traitor for providing such things for the enemy." Inwardly, I told myself that these were simply delusions brought on by whatever stress he had put upon himself. "So… after I gave ZAFT plans for more..." he giggled madly, still staring at me with his empty eyes. _"I_ built more. With the money…. In secret. They don't know. In the warehouse." He whispered, excitedly. "Three more. No one knows… no one knows…" he began to sing. "Much better. To destroy them all. Destroy both sides for what they've done. Both shall fall. Fall…fall...fall."

He suddenly crept onto his hands and knees. Like some maddened creature he crept towards me. I was against the wall and I didn't want to have to hurt my uncle. Though mad and unloving, he had chosen to shelter me for whatever reason. He reached towards me and I flinched. His lips curled into a smile as he slowly reached out and touched my cheek. Softly, in a sing-song voice, he murmured.

"Twilight and evening bell,  
And after that the dark!  
And may there be no sadness of farewell,  
When I embark;" I was almost afraid of him then. He always quoted poetry when in one of his spells... but never had be spoken Tennyson's 'Crossing the Bar', which ironically, was written a few days before the poet's death. How ironic indeed. But there was something about this one. Something I couldn't quite identify. He lowered his voice, eyes now glinting with some maddened plan that had slipped into his maddened mind. In a whisper, he leaned closer to me, cupping my chin with a shaking hand.

"For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place  
The flood may bear me far,  
I hope to see my Pilot face to face  
When I have crossed the bar." My eyes widened, and even now I can remember that strange smile. It was as if he knew something… something that he was waiting for me to find out for myself.

The spell continued with its usual bouts of babbling technical terms and disorientation. I fetched some pillows and a blanket, letting him sleep in the hall between the living room and kitchen. He was hiding something, and whatever it was, it was killing him. If not quickly.

A month or so later... after another one of my uncle's spells, I finally decided to go see what he had been up to. Once darkness had fallen, I went back to my room, hurriedly shedding my pajamas (for I hadn't changed out of them all day) and grabbed the closest clothes I could find. I finished tying the laces on an old pair of combat boots and pulled the leg of my black pants back down. From my closet I grabbed one of my new shirts. It was actually just a black tank top. But because our money had disappeared, it was all we could afford.. Now adorned in all my 'sneaking' clothes, I ran to the front door. From his coat pocket I found a ring of old keys and some access cards that I assumed were to his 'warehouse.' Now the only hard thing was finding it.

_"Oxygen systems operating at: 30 percent." The mobile suit announced, breaking me from my reverie. Going over what put me into this situation helped to pass the time…Let it babble to someone who cares…_

It was dark, and I didn't like that. All the freaks came out at night. I paused, thinking about my own situation and the irony of my earlier thought. I ran a few blocks, till I came to the apartments where my friends Pari and Sho lived. A few people still ambled about, but none of them even spared me a second glance. You needed an access card to get into the place, I suppose it was for security purposes. But, lucky for me, Pari had given me one of hers. It felt kind of cool, acting like I lived there. But again, no one even looked at me.

The elevator took me up four floors. After it 'dinged' to let me know that we had arrived at my chosen floor, I shot out of there just as the door had barely opened enough for me to squeeze through. There was no time to waste.

I skidded to a halt outside Pari's apartment door, slipping the access card into the slot before my hair had a chance to land on my shoulders. The door skimmed open and I crept in. Her parents were visiting family on Aprillius Four, so I wouldn't scare anybody. I found her vegged out on the couch, bowl of popcorn in her lap. I poked her shoulder carefully, though despite my efforts, she still squeaked and shot up into the air. She whirled around, blinking when no middle-aged man with a knife lunged at her. "Well hi." I muttered as popcorn began to rain down on us. "Oh hey, what are you doing up-" I grabbed her arm mid-sentence and nearly dragged her to her room.

I waited in the kitchen as she changed, having given her only, "we're taking a trip." for an explanation. She walked out, dressed in black jeans, a sweater, and black ballet flats. Who knew she owned so much black? "So- where we goin?" she asked casually, reaching back and braiding her jet-black hair. The dim lights darkened her already raven eyes to the point where the whites stood out in stark contrast to them and her dark chestnut skin.

"Now lets go pick up Sho." If we were going to need anybody, it would be him. Upon entering the hall, we nearly crashed into our aforementioned rebel. "Heyo." He whispered, glancing down at our clothes. "Going somewhere?"

"Really? What made you think?"Pari rolled her eyes, stealing his cap and ruffling his short cinnamon hair. As a matter of fact, Sho had on pretty much the same as us, except that he had a black newsboy cap, which Pari was now hiding behind her back. "I dunno where we're goin, Caiohme just broke into my apartment and kidnapped me."Pari explained, pointing at me with a mock mutinous air.

_I glanced at the blinking lights. "Caiohme..." I felt the word as it caressed the inside of my mouth. It's my name, though I don't know what made my parents think of it. "It's Scottish, and s'posed to be pronounced KEE-va. But I like to say it like, Ki-oh-may. It's prettier." I grinned stupidly, watching the warning lights blink. My headache was still there, but I think I've gotten used to it. I don't know…_

We sat in the hallways for a while, trying to think of any abandoned warehouses. "I can't think of a single one in Maius. Not that I know many." Sho sighed, drawing his knees to his chest. "And why are we trying to find it?" I didn't answer, I was busy thinking of anything that my uncle had said pertaining to a 'warehouse'. "He said something about how, 'diamonds and rubies danced over deadly secrets in the house where madness dwelled." I muttered, resting my head against the wall.

"That's it!" I shot to my feet, holding the access cards in the air triumphantly. "A _house where_ secrets are. Secrets that drove him made. And…and." I blinked, trying to gather the fleeting moment of understanding. "Diamonds and rubies… uh…. Damn! Maybe… Hey!" I whirled around to look at Sho. "Aren't there some old buildings beneath the radio towers?" Sho looked at me oddly, cocking his head and thinking for a moment. "Yeah.. But…" "That's it!" I nearly shouted, shoving the cards into my pocket and grabbing both of them by the arm. "The tower has white and red blinking lights. Which are the dancing diamonds and rubies."

"This is getting weird."Pari yelled as we burst through the doors and out into the night.

It was nearly morning by the time we arrived. Though, to our relief, our trip had been without incident. We stood before a cluster of large buildings with low glass domes. It looked as if the strips of copper that covered the outsides of the edifices were long beyond the point of repair. They were now green with large splotches of rust and decay. The buildings were close to the ground and hidden by taller buildings, shielding them from almost every view. "But they look so old…" Sho commented as we made our way to them. "Almost looks like someone made 'em look like that. Wouldn't the council do something about these buildings though?"

"Nah- they're too busy. And if someone pays them enough, they'll probably let them make the buildings look like anything they want." I didn't pay attention to their conversation, I was too busy looking for any kind of door.

Now that I looked at them, the buildings looked like those old air hangers you see pictures of in museums. Except that there wasn't any kind of debris or shrapmil sitting on the ground around them. "Hey guys!" I called, jogging over to a small door on the side of one of the larger buildings. A large number three was painted in black on the front of the hanger building, so it only made sense to use the access card with a simple number three on it. "Guys… this could be some top secret military thing." Pari took a step back as I slid the access card into the small slot. "Come on P, you read too many books." Sho grabbed Pari's arm and dragged her back over, despite her protests. The door slid open silently. Beyond it was a gaping darkness penetrated only by the night seeping through a broken ceiling tile. And even that little bit of light faded into the void within. There was a small clicking noise; like a switch being thrown somewhere within. In a blinding moment, the black abyss within the hanger was dissolved into a pure white nothingness that washed out everything in its path. As the lights dimmed and our eyes adjusted, we realized that Pari might have been right…

_Chapter 6 Teaser_

_"I couldn't leave my friends alone. It was my fault they were in this damnable situation. I wouldn't let them face the consequences alone. I turned slowly, watching my uncle. I saw no mercy in his eyes. Only the soul-consuming madness that had destroyed his life. And now it was about to ruin mine and those of my friends..."_

_**Palpable Horror**_


	6. Palpable Horror

Revised.

Poetry by Edgar Allen Poe. Bow to his greatness.

* * *

Our mouths dropped in unison. 

"Hurry, hurry! Come in!" someone called excitedly from within the hanger. The hanger- what an understatement! It was like some secret military…thing. Even now, I can't think of the words to describe it. I'd never been really close to anything regarding the military, but this is exactly how I would have imagined it. The inside of the dilapidated building was stark white, and shared no state of being with it's outside. Standing at ground level, we were above the lower level of the 'complex'. We all hurried inside, jumping simultaneously as the door slid shut

Now inside, we had the chance to look around. The bottom level was only five feet below the platform we stood on, a simple metal bar wrapped around and leading down a small set of stairs.

"Come come now!" The voice called again. It seemed too late to turn back. And in all truth, it was. We slowly filed down the stairs, myself in front, then Sho and Pari. There were all sorts of technical equipment scattered about, some beeping, and others just sitting there for whatever purpose. But that wasn't what we all stared at….

Giant suits, a lot like the ones from the news, only... different. Like I mentioned earlier, I don't know a lot about military stuff. But whatever they were, they didn't look too friendly. There were three of them, standing maybe 18-19 meters tall, lined up beneath the glass dome of the hanger. I came to the conclusion that the equipment was for maintaining or building those… 'mobile suits' I believe my uncle called them.

"Hurry over!" The voice gained a face as it's owner came running over. I nearly fell over myself. "Uncle?" I shouted, staring at the man who had earlier that day been a mad wreck. "Your crazy uncle?" Sho added eloquently. "Nice to meet 'cha." Pari chimed, not wanting to be left out of the conversation. My uncle shook his head, the mad gleam rekindling in his eyes. "We have no time."

"Time for what? To look around?" Sho asked, following Pari over to poke and touch the foot of the closest mobile suit. "No you fools! We must hurry! You must change…they are coming." Now we all looked at him, thoroughly confused. If he noticed, he hid it well. He sighed in agitation, grabbing both Sho and Pari by and arm and dragging them off towards a door on the far right side of the hanger. "Come one!" He yelled at me. For the sake of my friends, I followed. "I knew you would bring them." My uncle praised once he had shooed them into a white room with three lockers. He gripped my arm and steered me in as well, closing the door behind us with a mirthless laugh. We were trapped. "You'd better change before they get here." We could hear him sing as he pranced away from the door.

"You're uncle is crazy Caio." Sho commented blandly. I rolled my eyes and walked over to the lockers. "I guess we should change?" I suggested gently, if we didn't, he would get angry and slip into another bout of madness. Nothing bad could come from playing along wtih one of his little games. Each locked bore a name written neatly near the top. "Martyr…Seraph…Apocalypse." I read as I passed by. "Well, I suppose we should each pick one? Let's just humor the guy!" Sho declared, walking over to the locker entitled, 'Apocalypse'. "This one sounds cool."

Pari looked over at me, and all I could do was shrug. She walked over to the locker with 'Martyr' written on it. Why did we have to play along!

As for me, I took the only one remaining. The 'Seraph'.

Because we needed to change into whatever was in the lockers, we had Sho gather his stuff and go to the bathroom at the far end of the room. "Don't even think about coming out before we say!" Pari warned, throwing her shoe at the door that was still cracked open. Sho gave a cry and pulled the door close before it made contact. "Better luck next time." He taunted from the safety of his room. Pari and I snickered and opened our lockers.She pulled out a bundle of crimson, while I pulled out one of white. We shrugged and unfolded them. To our surprise, they were suits- flight suits to be exact. I pulled my clothes off as fast as I could. Though we were both girls, it was still a little awkward.

It was some sort of pliable white material with gold lines running from the neck, along the shoulders, and down the arms. I hardly noticed the tiny little golden wings on the ankles, gloves and neck. This explained why we had suddenly gone from rich, to really in debt. After giving the gloves a final tug, I hurriedly ran a hand through my long copper hair, irritated by the fact that the shorter layers continued to fall in front of my eyes.

Pari walked over, grinning as she posed in her suit.. Hers was a deep crimson and had gold lines and tiny little flames. "I wonder if he'll let me keep it." She looked me up and down before turning to the bathroom. "You can come out now!"

Sho also happened to have a smug look on his face. "This is so awesome." His black and crimson with little white crosses. "Now what-"

As if by magic, my uncle swung the door open and motioned for us to come out. But not before pointing to matching helmets hanging in each locker. We grabbed the helmets and followed him out. Though we were dubious, the fact that anything could actually happen had yet to dawn on us. After living with someone who was certifiably insane, I had gotten rather used to my uncle's inane little games.

"Hurry, they are coming!" he told us impatiently, hands on his hips.

"Who is coming?" We all asked in unison, a bit exasperated at his vague warnings.

"The ZAFT. I told them that we had mobile suits right under their noses." He giggled, "Now they are coming to see my masterpieces! But they cannot have my best works… that is why you have to take them away and kill them all. Kill them all." We stared at him in disbelief. Then... it wasn't all a game? "Why did you tell them if you don't want them to know?" I exploded, realizing that his madness had gone too far.

"I wanted them to see." He answered calmly, as if it had been a simple question. Outside, we heard sirens.

"They are coming." He whispered, suddenly frighteningly serious.

"Hear the loud alarum bells-  
Brazen bells!  
What a tale of terror, now, their turbulency tells!" He cried in panic, staring at us expectantly. It was Edgar Allen Poe.

Oh no….

He walked over to what looked like a control board. He flipped some switches, to what, I couldn't see.

"In the startled ear of night  
How they scream out their affright!  
Too much horrified to speak,  
They can only shriek, shriek,"

Cables and wires attached to the suits popped off, falling to the floor in a string of metallic thunder. The cockpit doors of each machine drew back, revealing with a slow foreboding a small room in the chest cavity of all three mobile suits. I remember the dawning horror I felt watching the light spill into the control center of each thing, watching how it caressed some sort of raised platform at the center of it all. Pari let out a sharp cry as someone pounded on the hanger door.

A mad grin split my uncle's face. He shrieked above the yelling outside in his hoarse baratone voice.

"Out of tune,  
In a clamorous appealing to the mercy of the fire,  
In a mad expostulation with the deaf and frantic fire,  
Leaping higher, higher, higher,  
With a desperate desire,"

Sho, Pari and I stared at him. He didn't honestly expect us to get in those things?

"Now- now to sit or never,  
By the side of the pale-faced moon.  
Oh, the bells, bells, bells!  
What a tale their terror tells  
Of Despair!" As he spat his empty words, he approached us, slowly drawing a gun from the inside of his jacket.

"How they clang, and clash, and roar!  
What a horror they outpour  
On the bosom of the palpitating air!" He shrieked, pointing at us with his gun, then the machines. The bitter tang of this reality made my mind reel and my knees threaten to buckle.

"Fine!" Sho shouted as the gun jerked it's way to him. I watched as his form retreated to the far side of the hanger, silently followed by Pari. At that moment, I hated him more than anything. I hated him for dragging my friends into his insanity. And I hated him for not loving me like family should.

His voice dropped to a whisper,

"Yet the ear it fully knows,  
By the twanging,  
And the clanging,  
How the danger ebbs and flows:" His gaze swept over to me, the gun following automatically.

I couldn't leave my friends alone. It was my fault they were in this damnable situation. I wouldn't let them face the consequences alone. I turned slowly, watching my uncle. I saw no mercy in his eyes. Only the soul-consuming madness that had destroyed his life. And now it was trying to destroy mine and those of my friends.

I followed Sho and Pari up the stairs that led to the scaffolding type construction that went across the chest of each machine.

My last glimpse of my uncle was of him, screaming at the ZAFT forces that burst through the door and flooded into the hanger;

"Yet the ear distinctly tells,  
In the jangling,  
And the wrangling,  
How the danger sinks and swells,  
By the sinking or the swelling in the anger of the bells-"

The three of us stood before the mobile suit whose emblem we wore was branded above the cockpit. A cross. A flame. A wing. There was no time for good-byes. The moment we heard gunshots, we threw ourselves into cockpits. The doors slid shut…. hollow silence.

Suddenly, I could hear my uncle's final screech. The last words of a man made mad by war and bitter by love.

"Of the bells-  
Of the bells, bells, bells,bells,  
Bells, bells, bells-  
In the clamor and the clangor of the-" The last word was replaced by a symphony of gunshots.

Silence.

I turned around, imaging the soldiers swarming around the mobile suit. If we just explained, they would understand. They had to.

Before I could finish my thought, I heard a small 'beeping' noise from behind me. I turned to look at the 'cockpit'. It was more of a control center. There was a small platform raised in the center, with a guide rail wrapping around it. Screens circled the room, and it looked like the platform was glowing from within. This was what the military used?

One of the screens blinked on. Random figures flashed across, followed by a series of foreboding noises throughout the room. "_Auto pilot activated."_ I heard it say. Before I could shout a protest, the mobile suit shuddered and I was pushed to the floor. There was a great shattering, akin to the breaking of a thousand mirrors...

Silence again.

I was too terrified to pay attention to what happened. We were in the colony... in weapons. We would surely be shot down as enemies. I tried to push myself up, managing to rise to my knees. The acceleration upwards continued to pull at me as I grappled with the guardrail. Where was the auto pilot taking me? "Sho, Pari!" I cried, realizing that I had no way to communicate with them. There might be a com system somewhere in the monster, but I hadn't a clue how to work it.

The only way out of the colony I knew was through the shuttle bay… and the chances of making it out were slim.

I pulled myself onto the platform and looked at what seemed like the central screen. The word 'Com' was glowing green. Did that mean I could use it? Not knowing what to do, I poked the screen. Nothing happened. Okay… "Activate Communications system?" I asked. On a neighboring screen, two faces popped up. I looked at them and they looked at me. "How did we do that?" Sho asked, looking over at Pari. "I dunno. Where are we going? It just said 'auto pilot' and then started to move. We'll be shot down. I don't want-"Pari's scream swelled inside the cockpit even after her picture blinked to darkness."What happened to-" Sho's picture disappeared as well. Now I was alone.

I hadn't noticed my hair rising as my suit burst into space during the conversation, but once I did, I screamed and groped for my helmet. Once it was locked into place, a sighed and looked at the screen. No one was there.

I grabbed onto the bar, waiting for them to contact me as the mobile suit took me where ever it was that my uncle had told it to go…

_'That was how I got into this mess' I thought sourly to myself. It had been days at least, and now the power was fading. Which meant that I was going to die. I was pretty okay with the idea by now. The headache was getting unbearable and it felt like my lungs were collapsing on themselves. "Must be the lack of air." I muttered to myself. I was just about to fall asleep when the main screen started flashing red. 'Entering earth's atmosphere...' it proclaimed. "Oh, Shit!' I yelled, clinging to the bars as the mobile suit began to shudder violently..._

* * *

**Chapter Seven Teaser**

_"...with an apocalyptic crash where both the choirs of heaven and hell soared into a deafening crescendo of chaos and mercy."_

**_Deafening Crescendo_**


	7. Deafening Crescendo

**Revised. **

* * *

_"The third angel sounded his trumpet and a great star, blazing like torch, fell from the sky..."_

Revelation 8:10

* * *

"_Trajectory …speed… thrust…"_ All were words that circled around the cockpit of GAT-STC 203 Seraph and it's dizzy occupant. "Somebody shut it off." Caiohme moaned to the wall where she was currently plastered. And for a reason that her dulled mind couldn't register, it felt like it was getting warmer. "Too cold in here anyway…" she muttered again to herself, willing the nausea from the mobile suit's tumbling decent into earth's atmosphere to die to a dull throb. There would be no way to tell what was up and what was sideways at the moment… not that she wanted to open her eyes anyway. 

The machine suddenly stopped somersaulting towards earth. But in all her luck, it then began to tremble and shake violently again. Willing all her strength to her arms, Caiohme managed to push off what turned out to be the cockpit door, and into the emptiness above – or what at the moment, was next to the platform. Now the mobile suit was falling chest first towards earth. Accelerating dangerously fast as gravity took hold with greedy fingers.

* * *

Down on earth, outside Aube territory, an OMNI warship continued to idle under the cover of darkness. 

A small knot of teenage crewmembers sat in a corner of the deserted mess hall aboard the Archangel, talking in hushed voices.

"Hasn't eaten all day…" one whispered.

"…won't talk to anyone."

"….hope they're alright…"

"I can't believe they're giving up so soon."

* * *

The recon groups from the Le Creuset team were taking full advantage of the evening. Already, anybody without duties was out searching the battlefield for their own. With only flashlights and the fading sun to illuminate the ground beneath their feet, many of them doubted that they would find anything of significance that night. 

Yzak, the only remaining pilot, had taken to sulking and muttering to himself. Much to the dismay of…well…everybody aboard the Gamow. Currently, he was kicking around a rock near the Vesalius. Whatever depressing thoughts the coordinator was thinking were cut short. At the moment he turned his head towards the sky, towards home, he caught a glimpse of something that struck him as odd. A pale, almost orange colored blemish in the night sky. "What the-" before the words had fully passed through his lips, others were blinking back to life and pointing at the strange object. Moments passed and the flame of curiosity grew. People gathered to watch the strange object, and bets were made on what it was. Yzak had ten credits on the growing theory that it was a ZAFT vessel coming to help them.

Creuset's mouth turned down into a frown. Now what was this thing on the screens? Certainly no trained soldier from ZAFT or even the Earth Alliance would try to descend that clumsily. "Another strange twist to this week's events." He commented, cupping his chin thoughtfully. "No findings yet?" he turned to a nearby crewman.

"No sir."

"We may have to send out a team in the early morning." This comment was made more to himself than the handful of crew presently on the bridge. "Keep a monitor on whatever is trying to enter earth's atmosphere."

"Yessir."

* * *

Several shadowed figures milled about the top of the Archangel, taking a chance for some fresh air.

"Hey Mir, come look at this…" a young crewman motioned for his friend eagerly. "Look at that." He pointed to a pale prick of light that was growing brighter every passing second. The girl cocked her head, brows knitting together. "What do you think it is Sai?"

"Lied to me. He lied… and he paid the price. Nobody lies to me," whispered a voice from beneath a mess of blankets. "He's dead, but who will protect me now?" The form shifted as the disturbing revelation croaked into the darkness. "No! Kira!" came a sudden scream as the sheets were torn away and a young girl revealed. Sweat made her thin nightshirt into a second skin. Disheveled ruby hair framed her face into a manic image of madness. She stared at the partition wrapped around her bunk. No one was there…

* * *

"Okay. I didn't mean for it to warm up this much…" Caiohme wheezed painfully. Inside the mobile suit, the temperature was rising dramatically. As her vision began to haze over, the final, fatal warning light blinked on. _"Out of power."_ It announced monotonously. There was a series of beeps and clicks before everything went silent. Darkness crept in where there had once been the red glare of warning lights.

Seconds clocked by in rapid succession. The moments between entering earth's atmosphere and the final collision with it's rocky surface were wiped clean as the mobile suit slammed into the ground with an apocalyptic crash where both the choirs of heaven and hell soared into a deafening crescendo of chaos and mercy.

* * *

Credits: I don't know what kind of currency they would use, so I'll call them credits. :) Equal to a dollar or a euro I suppose. 

GAT-STC: Gressorial Armament Tactical Sensor Transmission Control. A gundam similar in apearance to the prototype GAT-X modes. Except that it is controlled by tiny transmissions sent by sensors embedded into a tight, yet pliable flight suit. Every sensor coresponds with a similar point on the mobile suit. For example, sensors in the knees of the flight suit would be partnered with those in the knees of the mobile suit. The pilot controls the movements of the machine with their own. There are only three STC models: Seraph, Apocalypse, and Martyr. Every time damage is inflicted upon the mobile suit, the pilot feels a pain from the sensors as their counterparts are destroyed or compromised. The location of Apocalypse and Martyr is now unknown. I came up with this idea after watching an episode of Gundam Wing several years ago.

**Chapter Eight Teaser**

_" The sun speared through the lingering clouds of dust; sending those below into a foggy quagmire of dust, humidity, and confusion._

_The Defunct_


	8. The Defunct

Thanks to **_Chi-41132_** for rating and making me feel special again.:) So… I dedicate this slightly defunct chapter to you. I promise the next one will be eons better!

Revised.. a little.

* * *

A tremor shook the ground, soon followed by a large mushroom of dirt and debris that rocketed into the sky from a small island off the coast of Aube. Crew on ground from the Creuset team shouted and ducked for cover as the force from the impact sped their way. Falling to the ground and shielding their eyes from the airborne grit. Yzak was thrown onto the ground and buffeted by the sudden onslaught, his colorful curses drowned by the shock wave. 

The cloud receded and all was quiet once again.

* * *

Those atop the Archangel had a similar experience. People shouted and ran blindly for the hatch, crashing into one another and sliding on the dirt and gravel.

"What is going on?" Ramius called as the ship trembled. "Apparently the shock wave and debris thrown out by whatever it was the crashed a few miles to the west." A crewman answered, studying his screen for any more information.

Dearka cursed from his cell in the brig. Being bounced about was not something he was fond of. His fellow prisoner, Nicol, took the situation a little better, but not much. "Is it over?" the blond pilot winced, "What do you think it was? Earthquake maybe?"

"I doubt it was an earthquake, Dearka. We're not on a fault line." Nicol answered quietly, pressing his face against the bars. "And I think it is over… for now… whatever it was."

* * *

The sun speared through the lingering clouds of dust, sending those below into a foggy quagmire of dust, humidity, and confusion. "Gah. This is why I don't come to earth." Someone in a ZAFT uniform muttered as he brushed himself off and began to stalk back into the ship. Actually, that seemed to be quite a popular idea.

"Commander, should we investigate?" a crewman turned in his chair to look up at Creuset.

"Later, I believe. It is just past dawn. And we would accomplish nothing were we to take action in open light."

"Yessir."

"Call everyone back inside the ships. We're ending our search for the next few hours"

"Yessir."

* * *

"Captain!" Sai and Kuzzey slid through the bridge doors, out of breath and pointing towards the sky. "Did you see that!" Kuzzey cried, putting one hand on his chest and the other against the wall to steady himself. "You two look like you've been through a dust storm." Mu commented dryly. "What was that? Are we going to go investigate?" Sai asked, clearly regaining his composure faster than his companion.

"Well…" Ramius slid a sidelong glance at Mu, who simply shrugged innocently and tossed her a coy grin. "I suppose we should. The people aboard will need medical attention- if it was a ship at all." Sai nodded. "Kuzzey and I will go inform everyone."

"Attention" the coms cracked on. "We will begin moving towards the impact zone. All are to remain alert."

"Aw.." Kuzzey looked over at Sai. "We were going to say that…"

* * *

Apologies on how much this chapter sucked. Yeah it did. :-( 


	9. Fragile

_**Revised.**_

* * *

_Sunset and evening star,  
And one clear call for me!  
And may there be no moaning of the bar,  
When I put out to sea,_

_But such a tide as moving seems asleep,  
Too full for sound and foam,  
When that which drew from out the boundless deep  
Turns again home._

_Twilight and evening bell,  
And after that the dark!  
And may there be no sadness of farewell,  
When I embark;_

_For thro' from out our bourne of Time and Place  
The flood may bear me far,  
I hope to see my Pilot face to face  
When I have crossed the bar._

_'Crossing the Bar', 1889_

_Lord Alfred Tennyson_

* * *

Moonstruck waves laughed as they lapped against the metallic form that had invaded their shore. Their giddy fingers dragging it further down with the rising of the tides. The metal torso lay in a crater of rock and sand, everything below already swallowed by the ever rising waters. An arm lay reaching inland vainly, fingers splayed, helpless. 

A silver crescent hung low in the sky; caressing the foreign creation with ethereal light till it seemed a monstrosity of perverse beauty. Beads of water that trickled down along mobile suit were turned into creamy pearls and the dim gray armor into gleaming pearlescent sheets of moonlight.

Alone, the fallen warrior surrendered to the sea like many before it.

* * *

"It landed on a small island, west of here." Mu commented, looking up from the screen. "Good thing. If Aube wasn't an archipelago, whatever it was would have sunk by now." 

"That's nice lieutenant." The captain was far too busy thinking about the fate of their young crewmembers to pay any attention.

The final shreds of sunlight had already faded from an explosion of pinks and orange, to crimson and indigo, to finally the consuming darkness of night. Outside, as the world fell to inky blackness, inside the Archangel, the corridor lights flared in bright, empty contrast.

The occasional crewmember quietly shifted down the hallways, bowing to the somber mood that had engulfed the warship. Even the young hearts of their newest members had been quieted and turned inward. Nursing the wounds, which were still raw and alien to their fragile innocence. Hushed whispers were passed between friends as sad eyes turned to look outside to the sleeping land…

Fragile were those that had lost friends… even more fragile were those whose fates remained undecided. Two silent shadows hugged at the corners of their cells. Each contemplating their motives and experiences in life. Opportunities and friends lost flitted behind their eyes like ribbons of light passing through cold fingers. Destiny was taking its course and leading them to a time and place that remained unknown. Slowly, weary eyes began to droop. Sleep engulfing the coordinators till they were free once again, in a way only found in dreams.

* * *

The was nobody for Yzak to talk to. All of his 'friends' had either gotten themselves captured or killed, and his crewmates were avoiding him. Not that he needed them. He was fine by himself. But then again- the ship's halls had fallen eerily silent. Even the commander had shut himself up in his quarters and only emerged for food, which he promptly took back to his room. Creuset looked the same, but there was something different about the way he held himself. Yzak couldn't quite pinpoint it, but he seemed to be scheming. His mouth seemed to be always turned down into a thoughtful frown and a pad of paper full of random things always at his hand.

* * *

**_Chapter Ten Teaser_**

_Nicol coughed back a laugh at his companion's disheveled, bleary expression. "That's what I was trying to do, but you wouldn't wake up." The blond pilot scrunched his nose. "Come on Dearka. I heard that they're investigating something. So they won't have any time to look over us." "Oh. You're sneakier than we gave you credit for Nicol. Or maybe Yzak and I just rubbed off on you." Dearka cracked a snide grin and pushed himself to his feet. The younger pilot just rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, "I'm guessing it was the latter." _

_"Did you say something?"_


	10. Bits of Time

This is another blah chapter, even though it's been revised a bit.

* * *

The first spears of light burst through the clouds in the east, glittering off the hull of the Archangel as it passed beneath pools of sunlight. They had arrived at the small island to the extreme west of the Orb mainland just before dawn. And now they were circling the island for a suitable place to land.

"Captain!" A crewman turned in his chair. "We've spotted something on the beach."

"On screen." Ramius announced, leaning forward in her chair. There was a massive intake of breath from around the bridge as an image blinked on screen.

"A mobile suit…" someone breathed.

"It looks a lot like the Strike."

"Is it one of ours?"

"ZAFT couldn't have made any this fast."

"Alright!" Murrue stood; her gaze silencing any more outbursts. "We'll send a crew out to investigate. But until we know more about it and how it got here, no one except authorized personnel is allowed to approach it. Understood?" She waited until everybody had either nodded before continuing. "La Flaga, and Murdoch are the -only- ones with permission to investigate. Lieutenant, inform Mr. Murdoch that you two will be leaving for the shore in half and hours time."

Mu saluted, not bothering to hide his characteristically wry grin. "Yes ma'am."

* * *

"Hey Dearka." 

"nagumph…" followed by a snore.

"Dearka wake up." The voice persisted with slight annoyance.

"gah… piss off." Shifting fabric then another snore.

"Come on Dearka! Wake up!"

Someone was shaking the bars of his cell. Someone was waking him from a nice nap. They would have to die…

Dearka cracked an eye open and blinked against the light. That someone was… Nicol?

"What the hell!" He bolted upright, throwing the thin blanket aside. "What the hell are you doing out there? Why don't you get me out!" Nicol coughed back a laugh at his companion's disheveled, bleary expression. "That's what I was trying to do, but you wouldn't wake up." The blond pilot scrunched his nose. "Come on Dearka. I heard that they're investigating something. So they won't have any time to look over us."

"Oh. You're sneakier than we gave you credit for Nicol. Or maybe Yzak and I just rubbed off on you." Dearka cracked a snide grin and pushed himself to his feet. The younger pilot just rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, "I'm guessing it was the latter."

"Did you say something?"

"No. Just do as I say and I'll get you out…"

* * *

Light… Numb… Dizzy… 

_Pain!_

Amethyst eyes snapped open. The pilot's mouth froze in a silent scream as he arched against the bonds that held him to the bed. _Must stop pain!_

Struggling only made the pain in his arm and chest increase tenfold, but there was no feeling anywhere else. Why couldn't he feel the rest of his body? Panting, the coordinator whipped his head from side to side. His pupils had dilated till they nearly swallowed their own irises and yet he could tell that this was not the Archangel. The machinery here seemed more advanced, sleeker and more compact. Was he a prisoner? The Archangel! What had happened to them? Had he failed? "NO!" His hoarse throat contracted and strangled his cry and sent him into a fit of coughing. Alone… he was a prisoner and yet no one guarded him. "Where…" he managed to whisper to the empty medical station. No response…

* * *

"Well… where do you think it came from?" Mwu looked over at Murdoch, who was currently struggling to walk in the loose sand on the beach. "Aside from Space… I really don't know." He retorted hotly. The pilot rolled his eyes. "Excuse me for making conversation." Mwu shrugged and walked ahead. Leaving a very flustered Mechanic to curse about 'sand', 'beaches' and the like. 

Before them loomed a fallen mobile suit. The sun glinted off the smooth edges to an almost blinding point. The duo approached with guns poised and ready. Mwu shielded his eyes with his spare hand as they came to the machine's side. "So… how exactly do we get inside?"

Murchoch and Mu exchanged a glance before groaning and turning back towards the Archangel.

* * *

"Ma'am, have any of the search teams that remained found any trace of Tolle of Kira?" Kuzzey looked up at Natarle hopefully. His expression crumbled as she sighed and turned away. "I'll take that as a no then." The young crewmember looked down at his hands, lying uselessly on the table. Sai and Miriallia sat down across from each other further down the table. Their trays clattered to the table and they began a silent lunch.

* * *

**_Chapter Eleven Teaser_**

_"In all his life, he had never had so much sand in his shoes- and somehow some had managed to find its way into his pants..." _

**Enter Caiohme on the Sands of Change pt. I**


	11. Enter Caiohme on the Sands of Change pt1

Plot in this one. yay.

* * *

They were two shadows that slipped down the halls of the archangel. They're minds undaunted by the task ahead. The restraint system setup by the naturals hadn't posed a problem to the duo; and they had made quick work of escaping. Freedom was at the forefront of their minds.

Dearka sidled to the edge of an open door. After a few moments of silence from within, a quick glance inside told him it was empty. He moved on. His companion in escape was doing the same thing on the opposite side of the corridor. They had decided to spring their escape around sunset- when most everybody would be in the mess hall for dinner. There wasn't time for words. So the escapees fled in silence. Each more worried about making it out alive.

* * *

"Why didn't we think of this sooner?" Murdoch shouted up at Mu. The mobile suit had landed face down, so there was no way for them to see if anyone was inside. After much cursing and grumbling from Murdoch, they had returned to the Archangel to get something that could move the fallen machine. Except that they were having trouble getting it to do… anything. Mu was currently trying to get the Buster- one of the two gundams that they had captured, to pick up the other mobile suit and turn it over. With little luck. "That damn pilot-kid messed with the OS and I can't do a thing with it." Mu tapped the keyboard impatiently. This was doing little good for his nerves.

"Why don't we get one of those coordinators we caught to pilot it?" Murdoch shouted, kicking the Buster's foot to emphasize some point or another.

"Sure." Mu announced happily into the microphone, thoroughly enjoying Murdoch's look of surprise as his voice boomed from the speaker. "Why don't –you- head back to the Archangel and get one of the kids… and I'll wait for you here." Mu couldn't be more pleased with himself. They could tell one to pilot it and get the damn thing to move the new mobile suit, and if they tried to retaliate, they could always threaten to shoot their friend. All they could do now was hope that the two ZAFT soldiers liked each other enough.

So, for the second time that day, Murdoch turned around and headed back for the ship. In all his life, he had never had so much sand in his shoes- and somehow some had managed to find its way into his pants. He sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets and continued along the beach.

* * *

"Are you two seriously willing to give a captured mobile suit back to one of our enemy? That's crazy!" Natarle had jumped from her seat and stormed to the top of the bridge when she heard an out of breath Murdoch mention it. "It seems that we have a fail-safe though, Mr. Murdoch?" Murrue tried to soothe Natarle's feathers. "But-"

"Listen, Mu will hold the other pilot at gunpoint to prevent retaliation." The mechanic stated frankly, looking at Nartarle with disdain. The captain smiled amiably and stepped away.

* * *

"Okay." Sai muttered, rather neutrally. "Thank you." Murrue bowed slightly and headed back for the bridge. Hopefully Natarle hadn't strangled Murdoch. If it were the other way around... well… she wouldn't mind so much.

Sai turned and headed back for the brig. His gaze slid to his shadow, sliding along the wall like a specter that never ceased to haunt his waking hours. He couldn't help but feel a sort of connection with his shadow. Because right now, it was the only one who never left him. Not that it had a choice… if it could, if would probably have left long ago.

By the time he abandoned his musings, he had already passed the brig entrance. He backpedaled and pressed the code into the entry pad. As the door slid open and a breath of air rose out to meet him, he found the brig- that was supposed to hold two deadly ZAFT soldiers- empty.

"Oh no.." he breathed... taking a tentative step back.

* * *

Red lights along the floor and ceiling began to flash red, along with a low mechanical wail that began to pulse in tune. The shuffling of people inside their rooms began to grow steadily. An occasional shout or curse broke the throbbing silence. The two coordinators broke into a run. Blindly, they skidded around corners and shoved past emerging crew. "Hey!" A blond man grabbed Dearka from behind and threw him off balance. His injured shoulder slammed against the ground. "Dammit!" Dearka shouted, writhing against the many hands that tried to restrain him. "Get somethin' to tie him up with!" someone above bellowed. "Damn coordinators." Another added spitefully. "Shut up, all of you, and hold him down!" The blond man shouted above all of them.

They were too busy to notice another figure slicing its way down the corridor past them. Nicol had ceded control of his body. And he now watched with detached amazement as he zipped past more EA soldiers. They couldn't catch him. He was too fast. But where could he go? His conscious mind ticked out several scenarios- and aptly rejected them all. There was no time to think about Dearka, and that fact disturbed him. It went against his nature to leave a teammate behind. They had been trained that in a situation like this, the first thing to do was get away and then go for help. He turned another corner… 'look for a hatch' he repeated doggedly to himself. Just find a hatch, and he wold be free into the night. What happened after that, well, he wasn't quite sure.

* * *

Shattering mirrors… screaming bells… 

Ding…ding…

Screams… explosions… 

Ding… ding…

Powerless… falling… 

'Ding….ding…ding…ding…' pale lights flashed above and below her, creating the illusion that she was stuck inside of a metal cylinder. No… Caiohme blinked back the wavering darkness. She –was- in a metal cylinder. Her breath hastened as she whipped her head around. She couldn't move her body. "No!" she wailed to the side of the metal tube, "Let me out!" her hoarse voice croaked. Caiohme twisted against the invisible hands. Trying to kick and writhe her way free. "Let me out!"

'ding…ding...ding…' the lights continued to blink. She gasped. That was right, she was still in the mobile suit… thing. Before, when she had wanted to use the COM system, it had been voice activated. Her brows furrowed in thought for a moment. "Uh.. how about. Release pilot?" No response. "deactivate restraint system?" again nothing. She was grasping at straws here."raise platform?" Something to her right pinged. Suddenly, spears of light broke through the top of the cylinder as it drew back. Not natural golden light, but a stale and artificial white light that blinded her. Suddenly, the tube she was in became clear… much to her horror. She was indeed restrained. With a point of reference, Caiohme could tell that she was lying face down. A lot of good that did her. There was a large strap that crossed around her waist and disappeared into opposite sides of the tube. More padded straps held on tightly to each limb, and she could see where one had held her head in place.

Something had happened… there had been a deafening sound and then nothing. The shock of crashing into earth should have killed her. But… she was alive and intact as far as she could tell. "The tube!" She cried happily, realizing that it must be a safety-landing thing of some sort. Mentally, she made a note to find out what 'the tube' was actually called.

Beneath her, something clicked. There was a mechanical groaning, then the floor lurched forward. The various straps and pads fell away and were quickly retracted back into the walls of 'the tube'. "Owe!" Caiohme groaned, wincing as she fell in a rather uncomfortable position in the tight area. The platform didn't seem to notice her pain as it kept pushing her towards the opening. Several curses later, the platform dumped Caiohme out and locked itself into place. Her face met something cold and flat. "ugh…" She had landed on one of the screen that had once been in front of the platform.. and now that the mobile suit was face down… that made it below the platform… or… she had too much of a headache to think about it anyways. Now… how to get out.


	12. Enter Caiohme on the Sands of Change pt2

Another chapter...

* * *

Dearka writhed wildly against his bonds, screaming curses and spitting at the Archangel crew. He was tired of being a prisoner, and tired of being looked at. How was he supposed to bear the whispers when they passed him, and quell the idle frustration of feeling powerless. "Tighten those bonds!" The blonde man shouted. It had taken several of them to drag him down and wrestle him back into the cell. At the moment he was cornered and fighting the metal bonds. One click from above told him that all his struggles were in vain. The coordinator stopped abruptly, his gaze sliding up to stare down the barrel of the blonde man's gun. "You will help us." The man stated coldly. At the jerk of his head, the doors slid open and two more EA soldiers shuffled in- someone hanging limply between them.

Dearka's eyes snapped open. He suddenly lurched forward against his bonds. The blonde soldier jerked back in what could have been fear or surprise. Dearka fell forward with an ungraceful 'oomph', not having noticed that the bonds on his hands had been attached to those on his ankles. One of the soldiers nudged the prisoner that they held between them, causing his head to loll to the side slightly. Dearka had known who it was before they offered him a candid look. "Nicol!" He coughed in anguish. There was blood staining the front of his tunic, which was identical to Dearka's and probably every prisoner held by the EA. Despite what might have passed while 'safe' with the Creuset Team, they were all they had on this damn ship. Dearka clenched his teeth, biting back the angry curses that wouldn't do anything but worsen their situation. "What did you do to him…" He stated quietly. The blonde man lowered his gun till it was again level to Dearka's forehead. "We had to restrain him. It was a last resort. And now that I have your attention, I have a proposition for you."

Nicol moaned lightly, his body clenching in a short spasm. "Take him back to the infirmary. And make sure he is appropriately restrained this time!" The man waved away Nicol's entourage. After they shuffled out of the brig, the blonde man slid his gun back into the holster. "Listen kid, I've got a job I need you to do. If you don't do it- your friend there is in a lot of trouble." Either the stress was getting to him, or it sounded like the man actually sounded a little remorseful. "We really don't want to have to hurt him any more than we already have... and if you go along with us, we'll see that he is properly fixed up." Dearka tossed his head, feeling his old self start to return. "And who are you exactly. I don't answer to random naturals, you know." The man's mouth twitched. "The name's Mu La Flaga. And yours, kid?"

"It's Dearka, and don't call me a kid." He huffed arrogantly. "Well then. We need you to pilot the Buster-" Mu noticed the coordinator's sudden expression of glee- and squashed it. "But if you value your friend's life, you will use it only to retrieve a fallen mobile suit for us." Dearka pouted and Mwu continued. "It is in a place where the only way to get it, would be to get the Buster to carry it back to the Archangel. We would do it, but seeing as how you screwed with the OS…" Dearka cracked a wide grin. "None of you naturals can pilot it."

The natural grinned sheepishly, "pretty much."

La Flaga undid the bonds on Dearka's ankles and led him from the brig at gunpoint. "Be sure and behave now." He reminded as Murdoch soon joined them. "Ready to go back to the beach Murdoch?" aforementioned mechanic just looked at Mu and scowled. "How about I pour sand down your pants and see how you like it."

* * *

"Just pick it up and head back to the Archangel… and don't think about running off!" Mu shouted up at the Buster. The mobile suit leaned forward, carefully wrapping its arms around the other suit. As the day had progressed, the tides had once again begun to rise. Earlier in the day would have been preferable, but Dearka had insisted on making sure that they were indeed taking care of Nicol. After that, they had treated him to a meager lunch and then they had set out.

* * *

Caiohme sat up. Was it her imagination… or did the Seraph just move? Moving hurt, so she had spent the night... or what she assumed was the night… staring at the emergency lights and wincing with each breath. Apparently the straps that had held her in place for the impact kept her from crashing into anything, but still put a lot of force on her body all the same. Dark bruises traced along where the safety-straps had clung to her nearly emaciated, fatigued body. She rubbed her cheek and looked around. There it was again… a little tremor that shook the sides of the mobile suit. Like something was being pushed against either side. Was someone out there? Caiohme nearly screamed when the Seraph was jostled and she was thrown against the bar that wrapped around the platform. Everything stopped. Caiohme cracked an eye open and glanced around. Was it over? Almost to answer her question, the mobile suit began to sway back and forth slightly. Like it was being carried. "I give up…" Caiohme cried in exasperation, letting the mobile suit take her to another unknown place.

* * *

With the new suit in tow, the Buster landed back inside the mobile suit deck on the Archangel without incident… except that Murdoch had poured sand down Mu's pants as promised.

The Seraph was set up near the edge of the mobile suit deck incase something happened and they needed to discard it for some reason. Another foreign addition to the Archangel.

Dearka leaned against the foot of the Buster, eyeing the strange suit. "Wonder if anyone is inside it…" he muttered to himself. "Hey kid!" Mu called, waving at him from the scaffolding that had been raised across the Seraph's midsection. "Can you come on up here for a moment?"

Dearka shrugged and pushed off his, or what used to be his suit. He thrust his hands into the pockets of the off-white pants he had been given to wear. Maybe if he played along for a while they'd let them go sooner. But having to be nice to the enemy… that would take some serious effort on his part.

On the scaffolding, Mu and Murdoch peered over Dearka's shoulder as he popped a control panel open; switching wires around and typing in various code. "We learned this kind of stuff back a the academy. Seriously… how do you guys manage?" Oh crap… he winced. So much for being nice.

The two naturals exchanged glances. "We manage fine. Now… do you have it open-" "yup." Dearka stood up as something inside the mobile suit clicked and pinged. Two metal cockpit doors receded to the side with a metallic grinding where sand had seeped into the gears. "What the hell?" Mwu gaped. It was a small space. No chair, just a platform with screens around it. Something- or someone groaned from within. Dearka was the first to take step inside, drawn by sheer curiosity. Mwu and Murdoch watched warily from the opening. "He-hello?" his voice wavered when something shifted on the other side of the platform, a shadow pressed against the floor. He stepped around the railing. Ducking around the screens that were suspended around the space. Dearka narrowed his eyes and kneeled down next to the collapsed mass. He sucked in a quick breath. "Shit. Hey guys, there's someone in here!"

* * *

Several people were gathered around another infirmary cot. The medic on duty looked over at Mu, "So… she was inside that mobile suit?" They had each been repeating the same question, even though no one could really answer it. "Has to be the pilot" Mu answered intelligently. "She has a flight suit on."

"ZAFT wouldn't honestly send in someone this young…" The medic let his argument die as they both glanced over at Nicol in the next cot. "Right." He turned away and went back to his computer- where he had been before Mu burst in with his new patient. "I'll monitor them both and inform you of any changed Lieutenant La Flaga." The medic stated over his shoulder rather crossly. "Sure thing." Mu grinned sheepishly and turned to leave the infirmary. Not before stealing a last glance at the teenagers lying unconscious on identical cots. "Things sure are going to change around here." Once out in the hall, he shook his pant leg. "I'll never get all the sand out of there" he moaned to himself.


	13. A Tolle Tale

_**Short chapter. . **_

**__**

* * *

"Is he awake yet?"

"No, hasn't regained consciousness since we brought him in."

"When do you think he'll wake-"

"By all the hells girl! With all the jabbering your doing, you're sure to wake him!" An old woman poked her cane at the doorway into the little room. "Sorry! I was just curio-"

"It doesn't matter now, he's awake…" The old woman leaned forward towards the bed, peering at it's occupant warily. "Hello child, how are you feeling?" she leaned back when there was no answer from the bleary eyed teenager. "What be your name, child?"

"T-"

"Oh by heavens! You're probably thirsty, let me go get you something! Jessica watch him for me." With that, the old woman hobbled out of the little room and into what appeared to be an equally small family room.

"Hey." The girl, Jessica stated amiably as she sat down on the edge of the bed. "That's my crazy auntie- in case you wanted to know how we could possibly be related." She stammered hurriedly, blushing and biting her lower lip. "Sorry. It's just that when we brought you in, auntie insisted in changing you and I-" there was a horrified gasp. "No no! I mean, I had to help. But I swear, I didn't look at anything! She said that you would catch cold if you didn't get something dry on." Jessica tried to explain. "We found you about a mile from the shore, on the beach of lake Taero near a wrecked EA plane and decided to rescue you because you looked really bad- but you're better now!" she finished with a deep breath as she leaned back on the bed. "Right now you're on the island of Maebos in the Aube Archipelago. We're in the small town of Alliset."

"Wate-"

"Oh, but you probably don't really care about that right now. So…" The duo settled into an uncomfortable silence. Auntie soon returned with a pitcher of water on a tray heaped with pancakes, toast, eggs, and a pile of waffles. "Breakfast dearie! I made extra because you were so thin when we found you nearly a week ago."

"Water." A hoarse voice croaked dryly, groping for the pitcher. "Oh!" Both women sprung up and nearly collapsed onto each other in an attempt to aid their pained guest.

After successfully draining the pitcher of fresh, clear water, wiping clean the platter heaped with full on country cooking, and falling back against the pillows with a contented sigh, the questions began anew. "Me first." Jessica began. She had nearly been dancing around the room in anticipation. There were hardly any visitors to their small island. "What's your name." She began simply.

"My name?"

"Yes, child." Auntie prompted.

"Tolle... Tolle Koenig."

* * *

Final shreds of sunlight were banished beneath the horizon as the day came to an end. Life on the island for the past few days had been an experience that Tolle would never forget, but deep down he knew that it was time to return to the Archangel, or at least try to.

He was sitting on the roof of Auntie's house, letting the rays of gold caress his face and his chilled heart when Jessica clamored up onto the roof along with her friend Natalie. The girls sat down on either side of him. Jessica pulled her knees to her chest and rested her chin in the small space between them. Natalie let her legs dangle over the edge. "So" Jessica began a little dismally, glancing over at Tolle. "The Mayor says that we'll take you back to your ship tomorrow. He says that we can look at the log in your plane, and it'll tell us where you've been." Tolle nodded absently. It was so beautiful and calm here. It almost made him forget about the fact that he was a soldier fighting in a pointless war.

Ever since Kira had chosen to return to the Strike's cockpit to protect them- his whole opinion of coordinators had changed. If he was a good person, then that meant that a lot of others had to be good people as well. So why were they fighting? There was nothing left but a total, radical, ethnic cleansing. The PLANT Supreme Council wouldn't be satisfied until every natural was dead. And those in power within the Earth Alliance wanted every coordinator dead. It was just so frustrating. Tolle dropped his head down to rest on his drawn up knees. Sighing in defeat. There was no way out of it.

"Earth to Tolle…" Jessica waved her hand in front of the young soldier's face, which had suddenly gone impassive. "Huh?" Tolle's head snapped up, eyes wide and staring beyond the palm trees to the endless ocean that glittered below them. "You're going back tomorrow." Jessica forced an empty laugh. There was no point in lying to herself anymore. The days that Tolle had been bedridden, they had simply talked- never once touching the topic of war or sadness.

"I suppose we should go back down and get some rest before going out tomorrow morning then." Jessica flushed and quickly swallowed the anxious feeling that was rising up her throat. Did she really… like him? Impossible, her mind scolded. Dashing any thoughts before they could take flight.

The trio filed down the stairs- Jessica pausing to pull the hatch close on her way down. Tomorrow, they would search for the Archangel and return Tolle to where he belonged.


	14. Screams in the Void

_Another chapter ya'll._

* * *

**Falling… fleeing…**

"_Now- now to sit or never,  
By the side of the pale-faced moon.  
Oh, the bells, bells, bells!  
What a tale their terror tells  
Of Despair!" As he spat his empty words, he approached us, slowly drawing a gun from the inside of his jacket._

"_How they clang, and clash, and roar!  
What a horror they outpour  
On the bosom of the palpitating air!" He shrieked, pointing at us with his gun, then the machines. The bitter tang of this reality made my mind reel and my knees threaten to buckle._

**Shattering mirrors… screams in the void…**

No, there was something holding her down. And this only sent her into more frightened convulsions. What was going on? Why was everything shaking? Why wouldn't somebody just make it stop?

* * *

Nicol had been awake for some time, though it wouldn't appear that way. But with a carefully placed frown and occasional little toss of his head, the doctors simply thought he was in the midst of some injury-wrought sleep. From the commotion coming from the cot nearby, it was safe to assume that someone else had been injured. He just hoped it wasn't Dearka.

There was a daunting silence. The rustling sheets stilled and the medics held their breath.

"She's stabilized. Pulse is still up-"

"Tighten the restraints-"

"Where's that morphine?"

"-anemia...hypopnea..."

Nicol fought the curiosity to look at the other patient. The voices grew louder, and were now accompanied by footsteps. 'They're coming over here.' Nicol thought frantically. As long as he remained still, they wouldn't notice. "This one's still stable. Anesthesia should wear off in a few hours." One of them stated. 'Or a few hours ago.'Nicol thought dryly.

The footsteps retreated and were gone with the sound of a door sliding shut. Moments passed by in the uneasy silence within the infirmary. There was a muted noise to the right. Muffled and yet so piercingly painful. Nicol cracked his eyes open to the ceiling, blinking a few times till everything came back into focus. He turned his head to look over at the cot next to him. Nicol's mouth unhinged itself, and he hurried to re-gather his wits.

Well.. it wasn't Dearka… In fact, it didn't- or rather- she didn't look like any soldier he had ever seen before. She was wearing a flight suit of some kind. But it didn't resemble any of those used by ZAFT or the earth forces. Apparently the medics couldn't remove all of it for some reason, so only the sleeves had been cut away for the IVs. The suit was white with silver chest padding and gold streaks running down from the collar. Nicol's brows creased. "Strange" he murmured to himself. There was no insignia anywhere- or at least anywhere he could see…

Another muffled whimper brought his attention back to the other patient. She was trying to curl up against the restraints. The blankets were a crumpled up mass at the end of the cot. "Hello?" he called to her in a hushed tone. At the sound of his voice, the girl tensed and pulled against the bonds even more.

_**There was a great shattering, akin to the breaking of a thousand mirrors...**_

The girl's eyes shot open. Wide and unseeing. They darted about frantically- searching blindly.

_"How did we do that?" Sho asked, looking over at Pari. "I dunno. Where are we going? It just said 'auto pilot' and then started to move. We'll be shot down. I don't want-"Pari's scream swelled inside the cockpit even after her picture blinked to darkness."What happened to-" Sho's voice cut off and the picture disappeared. _

Her breathing increased as she pulled against the bonds, reliving some horrific event within the compounds of her fevered mind. Nicol's compassionate nature screamed at him to help. But, as he had earlier noticed, he was similarly restrained, only much…much tighter. He didn't even feel the gunshot wound in his arm anymore. When had that happened? Was it yesterday? Nicol shook his head. He felt horrible not being able to help. "Hello" he called again. This time much softer, cajoling. Like how one would soothe an upset child. To his relief, she stopped thrashing against her restraints. Her head lolled to the side so that she was facing him. It was like being shot all over again.

Only a thin rim of blue had yet to be devoured by pupils that reflected so much fear and rage. Her mouth was slightly agape, framed by disheveled copper hair that lay splayed out over her thin pillow.

Nicol's stomach did a nauseating flip. Something terrible had happened. And he shuddered to think of what it was. "Who are you?" He asked gently, turning his head to return the strange girl's gaze.

"Who I am…" she breathed airily. "Caiohme…" while her mouth moved ever so slightly as she sighed the words, her eyes remained fixed and unseeing on Nicol.

Whether it was the results of the drugs or of her ordeal, something was wrong. Nicol decided to probe deeper. "How did you end up here?"

Again, she answered softly in a sing-song voice, "diamonds and rubies dance over deadly secrets in the house where madness dwelled." Her empty gaze was averted to the ceiling listlessly. "Fell from the sky... a fallen Seraph."

"The sky? Are you from PLANT?" Nicol tried to prop himself up, failing miserably.

"PLANT? Running... Maius..." Her eyes clouded and her speech became incoherant.

Nicol watched her eyes roll back as she succumbed to sleep. This was greatly disturbing. His thoughts were interupted by footsteps outside the infirmary door. He quickly squeezed his eyes shut and let his body fall limp moments before a pair of medics walked in.

* * *


	15. Persian Dawn

_Longest chapter so far I think.

* * *

_

_Name_: Pari Bahram

_Location_: Maius Three

_Civilian Number_: 330257

_Genetic Type_: Coordinator

_Blood Type_: O-

_Age:_ 16

_Name_: Sho Hai

_Location_: Maius Three

_Civilian Number_: 260510

_Genetic Type_: Coordinator

_Blood Type_: AB

_Age_: 17

_Name_: Caiohme Sorcha

_Location_: Maius Three

_Civilian Number:_ 490231

_Genetic Type:_ Coordinator

_Blood Type_: A-

_Age_: 15

Councilman Yuri Amalfi looked at the paper with feigned interest. "What do these names mean?" he glanced up at his assistant questioningly. "Well sir," the young man stepped forward to the desk and pointed to the first name. "She went missing approximately four weeks ago."

"Your point?" Mr. Amalfi asked dryly.

"I'm getting to that sir. The second and third on the list disappeared at around the same time."

Missing children were a concern, but Yuri failed to see the relevance of it right after a tedious videoconference with Aprilius One. "It is a tragedy. I'll put out a public watch tomorrow morning." The councilman dismissed his assistant with a wave of his hand and a slightly candid yawn.

"But sir" the man persisted. "We have reports that the last one on the list was the niece of eccentric billionaire Kennith Hughes-"

"Kennith Hughes?" Yuri turned to his assistant with sudden interest. "The one who designed the G-weapons for the Earth Forces and the two new mobile suits being built in Aprilius? Wasn't he executed for building three more suits in Maius Three about…"

"four weeks ago?" The assistant finished Yuri's statement.

"Do you suppose that these children were involved?" The thought was entirely ludicrous. Mr. Amalfi rubbed his right temple, this could unearth something terrible.

"Yes sir. We have strong evidence to support this. Witnesses say that the three of them were often together. And a security video from the apartment residence of Miss Bahram and Mr. Hai show the three of them leaving together. " He paused, letting his words sink in. "In the direction of where Kennith Hughes was found with three mobile suits and then executed."

Yuri froze. Three mobile suits had emerged from the warehouse. Three children were missing. That left one question, where were they?

* * *

Lights flashed and alarms escalated to an unbearable pitch. One moment Caiohme and Sho were on a big screen, then something slammed into the side of the mobile suit, throwing Pari against the metal guardrail. She had screamed. The light within the platform grew brighter. Screens all around her began to spring to life, but the screen that once held Sho and Caiohme's images remained blank.

Images, images of things she had never and had hoped to never see blazed with terrible clarity. Before her loomed the open universe. Gone was the metallic shuttle bay that had swallowed the mobile suit for an eternity. But ahead, GINNs were positioned to meet her in battle.

And behind them loomed earth. How was it that people had almost brought something so massive and fearsome to its knees? Pari's breath caught in her throat at the sight. She had never seen earth but in pictures. Now that it stood in front of her, a sentinel of the universe, it terrified her like no army of men could.

That was why the naturals hadn't been defeated yet. They were creations of earth. Not creations of man. The planet had taught them the elements that they needed to survive. Unpredictability. Resourcefulness. Self-Preservation. Coordinators lived in a place that suited their needs. Not a place that taught them how to survive. No disasters tested the mettle of human courage or showed the true depth of human kindness in the face of humiliation or death.

Pari was blind to the encroaching army. Blind to everything except for the truth which burned itself behind her eyes and forever in her heart. No war could kill humanity. It wasn't defined by race, religion, or allegiance. To be human was to feel hope. To bleed and learn from mistakes and strive to make tomorrow a better day is to be human. To feel the solitude of pain and the rage that comes from fear is to be human.

Her vision blurred with tears. Instead of making themselves better, humans were destroying themselves. It was so ironic. Pari laughed mirthlessly, her unshed tears glistening in the red warming lights. '_they've come to kill me' _she thought absently. Her mind had ceded control of her body for the endless universe that surrounded her. Pari saw herself standing in Esfahan, the ruins of the Persian Empire at her back and the sun warm on her face.

Even though she had never been to earth, her grandmother, a natural who still lived in what was once Iran, sent letters describing Pari's family history and the land in which they had once lived. It was a strange thought, and it ignited a spark of anger in her heart. These people, who don't even know her, think that they have the right to decide whether she lived or died? No…

Pari narrowed her eyes. She would fight back. She didn't know how, but she would fight. '_Bahram means victory_' she thought to herself proudly, 'I_ may be a coordinator, but my blood runs deeper than that!'_ That was it. It was like someone else had taken control of her body and left her mind free to witness what she was really capable of.

She straightened and moved to hover directly above the platform. Her body went rigid as an electrical current ran from her neck to the soles of her feet and out of her fingertips. She had power.

The guardrail was suddenly drawn down into the floor, and a large metal ring rose level with the platform. Pari didn't remember putting on the helmet, but suddenly saw, as if through someone else's eyes, her breath ghosting against plastic a few inches from her face. Pari's distant body detected a drastic drop in temperature. It didn't matter. All that mattered was surviving.

The GINNs burst forward with weapons raised. Pari leaned forward, activating her Martyr Gundam's boosters and sending it straight for the oncoming GINNs. Reaching behind her, Pari grabbed at an object that wasn't there, and drew it infront of her.

Just as the Martyr reached back and drew a beam saber that sparked to life in its hands.

Pari dodged the shots by ducking and leaning away, all the while holding her invisible saber and slicing at invisible enemies. Simultaneous with the slashing and darting of her gundam. The GINNs lagged as they tried to keep up with Martyr's rapid movements. More were cut down as Pari and Martyr merged to become a single entity bent on erasing the GINNs before them. Soon none remained. On a different screen, Pari saw more ZAFT ships coming to aid those that had fallen.

A warning light flickered to life. Power was running out. Pari leaned forward and sent the Martyr into a headlong collision course with earth. If she ran out of oxygen in space, there would be no hope for survival.

The echo of battle within her mind began to die down. She felt hollow. There was no feeling, only a consuming emptiness. Before her, the planet grew larger and in truth, more beautiful. Something bright in the corner of the screen caught her attention. Pari turned to see the sun graze across a glistening cobalt ocean she had heard called, 'the Pacific.' She recognized the landmass below. An old map had called them 'The Americas' and 'Asia'. With the endless ocean between. What would it be like to live someplace so beautiful?

Pari realized that she was going too fast towards earth. Gravity was already beginning to pull at the mobile suit, causing it to shudder in periodic spasms. She leaned as far back as possible, shutting off the boosters and sending the mobile suit into a backward summersault towards earth.

No, that wasn't what was supposed to happen! Pari was thrown against the screen, her feet losing magnetic contact with the platform. The metal ring receded and the guardrail rose again. She had lost control.

Even as her world spun out of control, Pari couldn't help but remember the sight of the sun glancing across glistening ocean. It was a rare break in the Debris Bealt from which she saw the earth so unspoiled. She had passed straight through the belt and into the gravitational pull of the planet who she suddenly loved more than life itself.

In a fleeting glimpse, she saw the image of a vast, barren land rising to meet her amid an endless blue. Martyr began to tremble and shake violently. Pari was thrown against the guardrail with a sickening 'crack' and then to cockpit doors to which she clung desperately. In all her life she had never prayed. Never believed in a sentient being who watched over all. But as she clung to any handhold she could find amid the chaos, a hope blossomed in her heart. Be there someone out there or not, the situation was out of her hands. Pari screamed against the metal door to assure herself that she was still alive. That the never ending tumbling had not crushed her body and her mind only remained to watch the unfortunate end. She screamed into the emptiness till her voice was hoarse and her soul exhausted with the effort of living.

Pari closed her eyes and tried to imagine that the shaking of the mobile suit was the tumultuous waves of the ocean crashing about her tired body. That the heat was that of the sun as she stood beneath the ruined arches of her ancestral homeland. And the ground speeding towards her was just the endless heavens rising to meet her.


End file.
